Method of transmitting one text message to many receivers

ABSTRACT

A method of transmitting one text message to a plurality of receivers is disclosed. The method includes inputting numbers of the receivers and a text message to be transmitted, determining a type of a transmission speed of the inputted text message, and transmitting the inputted text message of the determined type to numbers of the respective receivers. If the text message transmission succeeds, the method further includes confirming whether any further receivers of the text message exist and, if so, inputting new numbers of the further receivers and re-transmitting the corresponding text message to the new numbers of the further receivers. In inputting the phone numbers of the receivers, the sender can transmit the text message more rapidly and conveniently using the phonebook function and one-touch dial function.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a text message transmittingmethod and, more particularly, to a method of transmitting one textmessage to a plurality of receivers.

[0003] 2. Background of the Related Art

[0004] As the use of mobile communication terminals, such as cellularphones, PCS phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc., increaseswith the development of mobile communication techniques, diverseadditional services using the mobile communication terminal, such asvoice message services, radio data communication services, text messageservices, etc., have been developed. Among them, the text messageservice has become a more important message transferring method than thevoice call service, with respect to youngsters in their teens andtwenties. Also, in order to satisfy the consumers' tastes and to improvethe quality of service, communication service providers and terminalmanufacturers have made a great investment in the development of diverseservices and the manufacture of terminals having more useful functions.

[0005]FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a related art text messagetransmitting process for a mobile communication terminal. A senderselects a text message function from a function selection menu that isdisplayed on a screen of the terminal. The sender then prepares a textmessage to be transmitted with a phone number of the terminal that isintended to receive the message (step S100).

[0006] Thereafter, it is determined whether to store the prepared textmessage (step S110). If the sender intends to store the message, he/sheselects a “message storage” command on a display section of the screenand the text message is stored in a memory (step S120). Then, the senderselects one of the message transmission types, which are classified intonormal, urgent, and special (step S130), and the preparation of the textmessage transmission is completed. A message appears on the displaysection of the terminal (e.g., “Transmission?”) prompting the sender fora command to initiate the text message transmission (not illustrated).

[0007] If the text message is transmitted (step S140), the senderterminal, after several seconds, receives a response signal indicatingthe result of transmission from a message transmission center. Thesender terminal analyzes the response signal and judges whether thetransmission succeeded (step S150).

[0008] If the text message transmission succeeded, the sender terminaldisplays a message (e.g., “Transmission has been completed”) to informthe sender of the successful transmission and returns to an idle mode(steps S170 and S180). If the text message transmission failed, thesender terminal displays a message (e.g, “Retransmission?”) asking thesender whether to retransmit and also displays a message (e.g.,“Transmission failed”) to inform the sender of the transmission failure(step S160). The sender terminal then waits for the sender's command forretransmission.

[0009] The retransmission process performed as a result of thetransmission failure includes transmitting the prepared text message,receiving the response signal from the message transmission center (stepS140), and judging whether the transmission succeeded by analyzing theresponse signal (step S150). These steps (S140 and S150) are repeateduntil the text message is successfully transmitted. However, if thesender does not want the retransmission, the sender terminal returns tothe idle mode (step S180).

[0010] Consequently, when one text message is transmitted to a pluralityof receivers, the sender should repeat the above steps (steps S100 toS180) for each receiver. For each receiver that is to receive the textmessage, the sender inputs the respective receiver's phone number duringa separate execution of process steps S100 to S180.

[0011] As described above, according to the related art text messagetransmission method, the sender should repeat a series of processes,such as inputting the respective receiver's phone number, the textmessage, the message transmission type (i.e., “normal”, “urgent”, or“special”), and the transmission command, for each separate recipientreceiver when transmitting the text message to a plurality of receivers.This causes inconvenience for the sender and makes it difficult toachieve a rapid transmission of the text message.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] An object of the invention is to solve at least the aboveproblems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantagesdescribed hereinafter.

[0013] A further object of the invention is to provide a method oftransmitting one text message to a plurality of receivers that enables acollective transmission of the text message.

[0014] A further object of the invention is to reduce the inputoperations needed to identify the receivers.

[0015] In accordance with the present invention, these objects areaccomplished in whole or in part by providing a method of transmittingone text message to a plurality of receivers. The method includesinputting numbers of the receivers and a text message to be transmitted;determining a type of a transmission speed of the inputted text message;and transmitting the inputted text message of the determined type. Ifthe text message transmission succeeds, the method further includesconfirming whether any further receivers of the text message exist. Iffurther receivers exist, the method further includes inputting newnumbers of the corresponding receivers and re-transmitting the textmessage to the newly identified receivers. The method according to thepresent invention may further comprise returning to an idle mode if nofurther receivers exist.

[0016] Additional advantages, objects, and features of the inventionwill be set forth in part in the description which follows and in partwill become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realizedand attained as. particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The invention will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

[0018]FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of the related art text messagetransmission process for a mobile communication terminal;

[0019]FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a text message transmissionprocess for a mobile communication terminal according to a firstpreferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0020]FIG. 2A illustrates a flowchart of a text message transmissionprocess for a mobile communication terminal, according to a secondpreferred embodiment of the present invention; and

[0021]FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a text message transmissionprocess for a mobile communication terminal, according to a thirdpreferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022]FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a text message transmissionprocess for a mobile communication terminal according to the presentinvention. A sender inputs phone numbers of the recipient receivers,after selecting a text message function from a function selection menuof the terminal (step S200). The phone numbers of the receivers areinputted using a phonebook function. The phonebook function is a basicfunction of the terminal set to enable the storage, deletion, andediting of phone numbers. The phonebook function is implemented at thereceiver's number input step (step S200). For the collectivetransmission of the text message to many receivers, the correspondingphone numbers are inputted at the receiver's number input step (stepS200).

[0023] After the phone numbers of the receivers are inputted, the senderprepares the text message (step S200) and then determines whether tostore the prepared message (step S210). Then, the sender selects one ofthe message transmission types, which are classified into normal,urgent, and special transmission (step S230), to complete thepreparation of the text message transmission. A message appears on adisplay section of the terminal screen (e.g., “Transmission?”) promptingthe sender to enter a text message transmission command (notillustrated).

[0024] If the text message is transmitted, the sender terminal, afterseveral seconds, receives a response signal from a message transmissioncenter (step S240). The sender terminal analyzes and judges whether thetransmission succeeded based on this response message (step S250). Thesender terminal displays a message to inform the sender whether thetransmission succeeded. If the text message transmission failed, thesender terminal displays a message (e.g., “Transmission failed.Retransmission?”) asking the sender whether to retransmit the textmessage and waits for the sender's command (step S260). If the sendercommands the retransmission, the sender terminal feeds back to step S240and retransmits the prepared text message. This retransmission process(steps S240-S260) is repeated until the text message is successfullytransmitted. If the sender does not want the retransmission, theterminal returns to the idle state.

[0025] If the transmission of the text message succeeds, the senderterminal displays a message (e.g., “Transmission succeeded. Do anyfurther receivers exist?”) asking the sender whether any furtherreceivers shown on the display section are to receive the text message.Thereafter, the sender terminal waits for the sender's command (stepS270).

[0026] If no further receivers are intended to receive the text message,the sender terminal terminates the text message transmission process andreturns to the idle mode (step S290). However, if further receiversexist to which the text message is to be transmitted, the senderterminal receives the input of phone numbers of the correspondingreceivers (step S280). At this time, the receiver phone number inputprocess is the same as the receiver phone number input of step S200.

[0027] If the phone numbers of the new receivers are inputted, a message(e.g., “Retransmission?”) appears on the display section of the senderterminal and the sender terminal waits for the sender's command of textmessage transmission (not illustrated). When the command is received,the sender terminal repeats the above steps S240, S250, and S270.

[0028] If any further receivers to which the text message is to betransmitted exist after the completion of the collective transmission tothe plurality of receivers, the sender terminal performs the textmessage transmission steps S280, S240, S250, and S270 successively.Also, the phone numbers of the receivers are more easily inputtedthrough the application of the existing one-touch dial function of theterminal (i.e., the function of inputting recently used phone numbers bypressing specified buttons), as described above.

[0029]FIG. 2A illustrates a flowchart of a text message transmissionprocess for a mobile communication terminal, according to a secondpreferred embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart of FIG. 2Ais similar to that of FIG. 2. For brevity, only a description of thedissimilarities will be provided below.

[0030] Step 280 of FIG. 2A provides the sender the opportunity to sendthe message to additional receivers, as is the case for the process ofFIG. 2. However, in this second embodiment, the process transitions tostep 230, after the entry of the identifications for the additionalreceivers. Step 230 provides the sender the opportunity to select themessage transmission type for the additional receivers. Once the senderselects the message transmission type for these additional receivers,the text message is transmitted to the additional receivers using thecorresponding message transmission type (S250).

[0031]FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a text message transmissionprocess for a mobile communication terminal, according to a thirdpreferred embodiment of the present invention. After selecting a textmessage function from a function selection menu of the terminal, asender inputs the text message intended for transmission to a number ofreceivers (S310). Upon completing the entry of the text message, thesender is prompted by a display on the terminal screen to enter acommand indicating whether the text message should be stored to memory.If the sender commands the terminal to store the text message, it isstored to memory (S220) and the transmission process continues with stepS320. Otherwise, the transmission process continues with step S320without storing the text message to memory.

[0032] The sender is prompted to enter the phone number (i.e.,identification) of a receiver that is intended to receive the textmessage, using the phonebook function of the terminal. After the senderidentifies a receiver (S320), the terminal prompts the sender to selecta message transmission type for the identified receiver. When the senderselects the message transmission type (e.g., normal, urgent, andspecial), the terminal prompts the sender to enter a command instructingit whether to continue with the entry of receiver identifications(S340). If the sender instructs the terminal to continue the process ofidentifying receivers of the text message, the transmission processtransitions to step S320. Otherwise, the transmission process continuesby transmitting the text message to the collective group of identifiedreceivers (S240). Process steps S320, S330, and S340 are repeatedlyperformed until all of the intended text message recipients have beenidentified.

[0033] If the text message is successfully transmitted, the senderterminal receives a response signal from a message transmission center,after several seconds (step S240). The sender terminal determineswhether the transmission succeeded based on this response message (stepS250). The sender terminal displays a message to inform the senderwhether the transmission succeeded. If the text message transmissionfailed, the sender terminal displays a message (e.g., “Transmissionfailed. Retransmission?”) prompting the sender to enter a command. Ifthe sender commands the terminal to retransmit the text message, theterminal retransmits the text message to the recipient that failed toreceive the text message previously (S240). This retransmission process(steps S240-S260) is repeated until the text message is successfullytransmitted.

[0034] If the sender commands the terminal not to retransmit the messageor if the transmission of the text message to the collective group ofrecipients succeeds, the terminal provides the sender the opportunity tosend the text message to additional receivers. The terminal displays amessage (e.g., Do any further receivers exist?”) prompting the sender toenter a command. If the sender commands the terminal to terminate thetransmission process, then the terminal returns to its idle mode ofoperation (S290). Otherwise, the terminal prompts the sender to enterthe identification of another receiver that is intended to receive thetext message (S320).

[0035] According to the related art text message transmission method,the sender should repeat the message transmission process as many timesas the number of the receivers, in such a manner that the sender inputsthe phone numbers of the receivers one by one when the sender transmitsone text message to a plurality of receivers. With the presentinvention, the performance of the above unnecessary process is avoided.To more effectively transmit the text message, the phone numbers of theplurality of receivers are inputted at the receiver number input step.Also, in inputting the phone numbers of the receivers, the sender cantransmit the text message more rapidly and conveniently using thephonebook function and one-touch dial function.

[0036] Also, by arranging the receiver number input process (steps S200and S280) in front of and behind the text message transmission process(step S240), the sequential transmission of the message becomes possiblein addition to the collective transmission of the message.

[0037] The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary andare not to be construed as limiting the present invention. The presentteaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. Thedescription of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, andnot to limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications,and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. In theclaims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structuresdescribed herein as performing the recited function and not onlystructural equivalents but also equivalent structures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of transmitting a text message,comprising: inputting identification numbers of a number of receiversand a text message to be transmitted; determining a message transmissiontype of the inputted text message; transmitting the inputted textmessage to the number of receivers using the determined messagetransmission type; and if the text message transmission succeeds,confirming whether any further receivers of the text message exist and,if no further receivers exist, returning to an idle mode.
 2. The methodof claim 1, further comprising sequentially transmitting the textmessage to the further receivers, if the further receivers exist.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the identification numbers are phone numbersregistered in a phonebook of a sender's terminal.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the number of receivers is at least two.
 5. The method ofclaim 2, wherein sequentially transmitting the text message furthercomprises: inputting the identification numbers of the correspondingfurther receivers; and re-transmitting the text message to the furtherreceivers.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the identification numbersare phone numbers registered in a phonebook of a sender's terminal. 7.The method of claim 5, wherein the identification numbers of the numberof receivers and the further receivers are inputted through a one-touchdial function.
 8. A method of transmitting a text message, comprising:inputting identification numbers of a number of receivers and a textmessage to be transmitted; determining a message transmission type ofthe inputted text message; transmitting the inputted text message to thenumber of receivers using the determined message transmission type; ifthe text message transmission succeeds, confirming whether any furtherreceivers of the text message exist and, if the further receivers exist,sequentially transmitting the text message to the further receivers; andif no further receivers exist, returning to an idle mode.
 9. The methodof claim 8, wherein the identification numbers are phone numbersregistered in a phonebook of a sender's terminal.
 10. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the number of receivers is at least two.
 11. The methodof claim 8, wherein sequentially transmitting the text message furthercomprises: inputting the identification numbers of the correspondingfurther receivers; and re-transmitting the text message to the furtherreceivers.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the identificationnumbers are phone numbers registered in a phonebook of a sender'sterminal.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining themessage transmission type for the further receivers, beforere-transmitting the text message to the further receivers.
 14. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the identification numbers of the number ofreceivers and the further receivers are inputted through a one-touchdial function.
 15. A method of transmitting a text message, comprising:inputting identification numbers of a number of receivers and a textmessage to be transmitted; determining a message transmission type ofthe inputted text message; transmitting the inputted text message to thenumbers of receivers using the determined message transmission type; ifthe text message transmission succeeds, confirming whether any furtherreceivers of the text message exist; and if the further receivers exist,inputting the identification numbers of the further receivers andre-transmitting the text message to the further receivers.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising returning to an idle mode, if nofurther receivers exist.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein theidentification numbers are phone numbers registered in a phonebook of asender's terminal.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the number ofreceivers is at least two.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein theidentification numbers of the number of receivers and the furtherreceivers are inputted through a one-touch dial function.
 20. The methodof claim 15, further comprising determining the message transmissiontype for the further receivers, before re-transmitting the text messageto the further receivers.
 21. A method of communicating, comprising: (a)entering a text message into a sender terminal; (b) entering anidentification of a receiver terminal that is intended to receive thetext message; (c) entering a message transmission type for theidentified receiver terminal; (d) determining whether another receiverterminal is intended to receive the text message; (e) repeating steps(b), (c), and (d) until every receiver terminal intended to receive thetext message is identified; and (f) collectively transmitting the textmessage to the identified receiver terminals.
 22. The method of claim21, further comprising: determining whether the text message wassuccessfully communicated to every receiver terminal identified; andre-transmitting the text message to a group of the identified receiverterminals that failed to receive the text message, in accordance with auser command.
 23. The method of claim 21, further comprising:determining whether the text message will be sent to an additionalreceiver terminal, after the text message has been transmitted to theidentified receiver terminals; repeating steps (b), (c), and (d) foreach additional receiver terminal that is intended to receive the textmessage; and collectively transmitting the text message to each of theadditional receiver terminals identified.